They thought we were dead and Bury-ed…

FC Buxton 2 – 2 Forever Bury PD

The irregular pattern of squad availability was again underlined as the FC Bucks returned to their home patch with a healthy squad of 16, making the threadbare 11 who made the journey to Halifax last week seem like a distant (but all too familiar) memory.

Apart from the notable absences of man of the moment Dren and the ever adaptable ‘Utility Corbett’, the gaffer had a full army of players to choose from. The team read as follows: The Cat. Ryan Redfern. Micky P. Mossy. Merse. Bettsy. Rajan Kalyan. Bammer. Jonny B. Gav Johnson and Joel Pearson. Substitutes – Tiffster (the comeback has arrived). Gaz Bramwell. Mark Redburn, and two debutants Ryan Haworth and Nick Bainbridge (Bammer Junior).

The early stages of the game were as closely contested as in the previous meeting between these two sides, which ended in a 1-1 draw back in September. The effort from the FC Buxton lads was undeniable; however, it was the boys from Bury who struck first. A nasty bobble – all too common on the Fairfield pitch – causing The Cat’s parry to stray out of his control, but it still took a smart finish from the diminutive striker ‘Harry’ which looped over everybody’s favourite feline and into the net. 0-1.

What happened next can only be described as ‘genius’. After some hard work from Gav had won a free kick on the left, yards away from the corner flag, Joel proceeded to float in a delightful effort which eluded all and settled in the top right-hand corner of the net. Was it a cross, or was it just pure arrogance from the GHD loving youngster? Little did it matter, it was 1-1.

The dark side of the FC Bucks’ game returned shortly after when a corner from the left was poorly defended and knocked in at the far post by a fumbling Bury attacker. Rumour has it it was actually diverted in with his arm, but the goal stood. 1-2.

HT 1-2.

The half-time whistle was met with enthusiasm by the Buxton lads. Although trailing, it was clear that the desire and commitment was there to get ourselves back into the game. Merse freshened things up a bit with the introduction of Gaz B to the fray, in place of the hard-working Bettsy, with Joel moving onto the wing. Mark replaced the purring Cat in between the sticks.

For the first twenty minutes of the second half, the FC Bucks struggled to get to grips with what was required of them. Bury tried to take advantage of this by piling forward, but only had a couple of off-target attempts to show for their dominance until a long effort was misjudged by Redburn in the Buxton goal. He was relieved to see it strike the left-hand post and nestle safely back into his arms.

This seemed to give Buxton the wake-up call they needed, and as Bettsy replaced the injured Joel before almost immediately pulling up himself and being replaced by Bammer Jr., an extra sense of urgency appeared within the FC Bucks play. Jonny B was unlucky with a fierce volley, with the Bury stopper pulling off the save of the match. Further subsitutions followed with the return of Chris ‘Tiff’ Hill to the centre of midfield and the introduction of young Ryan Howarth at left-back in place of Gav and Merse respectively. Joel also shook off his injury to return to the battle in place of Kalyan.

The last 10 minutes saw a bombardment of the Bury goal from FC Buxton. Micky P was pushed up from the back to help the onslaught, and was unlucky not to get his name on the scoresheet with an outrageous overheard kick which pinged the Bury crossbar, followed by a good low drive which brought another smart save from the Bury keeper. The pressure finally told in the last minute as Joel swung in a deep corner which was met by Bammer at the back post - his looping header being diverted into his own net by the otherwise impressive Bury goalie. The last kick of the game. 2-2.

The FC Bucks can be happy with the point earned when it looked as if their late efforts would go to waste. The nature of the equaliser was made all the more sweet after the Buxton lads were robbed of victory with the last kick of the return fixture back at the start of the season.

Gaffers M-O-T-M: Jonny B.